Eccedentesiast
by AudiLion
Summary: Hareen Quinzel was just a normal psychology student at Gotham University, so how did she catch the attention of the most notorious villain in all of Gotham, the very own Clown Prince himself? (Rated T for now, might be Rate M later)
1. Blue Eyes

A/N: I should probably finish writing some other chapters for my other stories (or be studying for my finals but nah) before I start this but I am so stoked for this story that I can't wait lol. So if ya'll don't know, an eccedentesiast is someone who fakes a smile, and you'll find out why I titled this story this for a reason. Rated T for now.

"Oh come on Harls! You study all the time." Pam whined as she crumpled up a blank sheet of notebook paper and throws it at a studying Harleen. The redhead hits the blonde right in the face.

Harleen threw a small glare at her roommate aka Pam. "I really need to ace this next test, or else I won't finish this semester and then I won't graduate." She threw the ball of paper back at Pam.

Pam rolled her eyes, jumping over to Harleen's bed, making the bed rustle as she landed on papers. "It's Saturday night, Harls! Please? Can we please just go out? Oh! I know this amazing club in the Underground, you'll love it, I know." Her friend Pam begged. Harley sighed in defeat.

"Fine…" Pam squealed and rolled off of the bed, running to their shared closet. She pulled out a forest green lace cocktail dress and black pumps.

"What do you think?" Pam asked Harleen as the blonde stripped to get into the shower.

"Cute! Makes your hair pop." Harleen turned the water on, making sure it was just the way she liked it, scalding. She stepped into the steamed glass and sighed in content.

* * *

Pam dragged Harleen down the street, their heels clacking against the blacktop of the cracked street. "Where are we going again?" Harleen asked for the third time since they had left the apartment.

"It's a surprise!" Pam scolded as they stopped in front of a plain, stout building. It had a sign out front that lit neon purple letting people know it was vacant.

"Are you sure you know where you're goin' Pam? This place looks deserted." Harleen frowned and slowly walked after her adventurous friend, who was already at the door of the building. She gave an odd knock, three quick, then one, then two. A slot opened and they saw a pair of brown eyes, a dark voice slicing through the air.

"What do you want?" The man growled and glared at the two women before another pair of eyes peeked through slot.

"Oh goody! More company." The icy blue eyes almost seemed to smile. They did a once over of Pam before landing on Harleen herself. Their gaze made her feel confident, to the point where she stood up straighter and even pushed out her already exposed cleavage. They ravaged her until she pulled her gaze away. "Let them in." Blue eyes seemed to grin at her again as the door creaked open to the sound of loud music and hoots from a crowd. Blue eyes was gone, much to Harleen's dismay, and there stood the stocky, dark bodyguard.

The women stepped around him into the club, where Harlem finally noticed that it wasn't a dance club, but a strip club. She didn't understand why she was surprised, considering Pam was always into new things. Watching the girls dance brought back memories of her childhood in Jersey, back to when she had done gymnastics. She missed it.

Pam sauntered over to the bar and ordered herself a drink while Harleen sat down at a table, looking around the large room. She felt as if a pair of eyes was on her, searching for them she swiveled her head towards a large booth at the far corner surrounded by beads. Harleen shivered with curiosity.

* * *

Joker grinned as he watched the blonde woman sitting alone. "So Mr. Estrada," Joker enunciated. "You wish to become part of my little business?" The green-haired man pulled his gaze from the woman and rolled his neck in the direction of his accomplice across the table.

The other man, seemingly ordinary, leaned in onto the table and frowned at the Joker. "I'm not here to play games clown. I need you to do a job and I'm willing to compensate for any supplies you need. I know that the thrill of the kill is enough to pay for this." Estrada explained.

The Joker instantly perked at the idea, baring his grill in a wide, sickening smile. "What kind of jobby are we lookin' at Estrada?"

"I need you to kill my business associate. I've scheduled her to be at one of our clubs next Saturday, and that when you blow the whole shindig up."

Joker tapped his red lips in thought. "Isn't your supposed business associate also you wife?"

Estrada glared at Joker and pointed an angry finger at the pale man. "That is none of your concern. Get the job done or I'm turning you in to the Bat."

His silly smile vanished in an instant and was replaced with a steely look of seriousness. "I'll do the job, but don't you ever… EVER," Joker growled loudly as he snatched the lapels of Estrada's jacket and pulled him towards him, "threaten me again or I will kill you point blank. Understand?"

Estrada nodded, fear clouding his eyes. The Joker chuckled and let go of the other man, straightening out the wrinkles he created. "It was lovely seeing you again Julio, hopefully we can do business some other time?" Estrada nodded and silently stood up from the booth.

"Jonny!" A young man in jeans and a leather jacket appeared from behind Estrada.

"Yes sir?"

"Please show our guest out, and make it," the Joker snapped, "snappy?"

Jonny nodded and led Estrada out of the booth area and through a metal door in the back. Joker looked back out through the curtain of beads to find that gorgeous blonde from before, now with her redheaded friend at a table. He heard the quiet gun shots from out in the alley and his face contorted with a wicked smile.


	2. Big Bang Boom

A/N: Posted the first chapter a while ago and already have quite a few follows and faves yay! Like I said before, I'm really loving this story for once (I'm such a critic of my own writing) and I have HUGE plans for this :) I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter being posted so quickly!

* * *

Harleen and Pam stumbled out of the club, giggling and leaning on each other for balance.

"Oh, Harls, did you see that bartender? He was gorgeous. Maybe I should go back and get that guy's number…" Pam slurred and gripped Harleen's shoulder as she tried to turn around.

"Pammy no. We need to get you home. You had a little too much to drink tonight."

Pam pouted and blew a raspberry at Harleen. "You are such a Debbie Downer. Besides, if we go back, we could find a guy for you! Please? Pah-leeeaassee?" Pam begged, already pulling Harleen back to the door. The blonde tried to bury her heels into the cracks of the pavement but Pam relentlessly jerked Harleen to forward.

"Knock Knock!" Pam sang and the dark eyes from before appeared. "I forgot my bag in there, silly me, would you mind letting us back in?" Harleen saw the guard look back behind him and mumble something before nodding. The door creaked open and Pam glided through happily while Harleen followed warily.

"Pam?" Harleen called when she didn't see her friend after she walked in. Instead of moving into the room they were in before, Harleen stood there waiting. She noticed several things that she hadn't before, such as a new door. There must have been someone or something important inside, as several more men who looked like the guard were standing around it. In her head, she contemplated if she could get through the guards and into the room. The alcohol in her said yes, but the doctor in her said no.

"Harley! I got it! We can leave now." Pam popped up next to her. Harleen jumped and glared down at Pam.

"You have got to stop doing that," Harleen sighed and started pulling her friend, who complained about the grip her friend had on her. Harleen saw a black car drive past on the street ahead of them but gave no attention to it as a passenger threw something out of the window.

The girls hardly made it through the door of the club when they heard an explosion, Harleen pulling Pam down as her friend screamed. "Get down, Pam." Harleen yelled as she shielded her friend from anything that might come their way.

* * *

Joker sat in his chair behind a large wooden desk as he listened to the explosion. "Jonny, you taken care of our little friend?"

"Yes, sir." The Joker smirked and spread his hands on his desk.

"Wonderful." He stood up and opened the door, looking down the hall to see the where the chaos was occurring."Just wonderful," his smile vanished, replaced with a scowl.

* * *

Harleen heard the door open behind her and looked at who walked out, through the dust she could only see a pale man with a dark suit. Her eyes moved up his body until she landed on those icy blue eyes she couldn't get out of her head. She gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth to keep quiet but it was too late. The man walked over to her and crouched down in front of her. Harleen looked up at him and stumbled back, pulling Pam with her. "Go, Pam. Leave!"

"I'm not leaving without you, Harley! Let's go."

"Just go dammit!" Harleen yelled at Pam, who had finally noticed why Harleen was pushing her.

"I'm gonna come back for you, I promise…" Pam shouted as she tried to run backwards.

Someone snatched Pam from the darkness behind her and Harley yelled. "No, no! Let her go, please! Let her go." Harleen scrambled towards her friend, looking back at the man.

Joker pulled out a gun and pointed it at Harleen. Her lips trembled slightly as she looked down the barrel right into his eyes. She closed hers waiting for the bang. When she heard it, she jumped, but realized she was still alive. Harleen looked down at herself and saw no blood and looked at the Joker. His gun was pointed at the direction that Pam had been caught.

Harleen turned around violently and saw a human figure lying still on the ground. "Oh God!" She screamed and tempted to run towards the body before it moved and she jumped back. Harleen glimpsed red hair and walked tentatively in the direction she saw it. Pam was leaning up against the brick wall hunched over, her hands fisted in her hair and trying to breathe.

"Pam?!" Harleen yelled and hugged her friend who equally embraced her crying. Harleen felt Pam stiffen as her friend turned her around the other way. The Joker stood there impatiently with his gun tapping the side of this thigh.

"We don't want any trouble, sir," Pam said quietly from behind Harleen. The Joker laughed and shook his head.

"Ladies, I'm not looking for trouble either, at least, not from you two," he said with a smile. Harleen pushed Pam behind her more and glared at the monster of a man. "Go."

Harleen stared at Joker and started to push Pam in the direction of their home. "Thank you…." She whispered to the clown as she followed her friend.

"They're long gone, sir. As far as some of our guys could see it was 2014 BMW I8," Jonny stated as he approached his boss.

Joker nodded and watched the retreating women, mainly the tall blonde in the little red and black dress. "We have some work to do, get inside," the green-haired man growled and stalked inside, taking one more look at the lives he spared.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harleen asked her friend as she helped walk her to her own room. Pam was shaking still from the incident at the club and wanted to go home instead of going to the police.

"I'll be okay… I'm, just in shock." Harleen nodded in understanding as she left Pam in her room and walked to her own.

"Literally every psychiatrist's dream patient and I stood there like an idiot," Harleen sighed and fell on her bed. She rolled over to face the window overlooking the city of Gotham and treaded heavily over to it. "It will be a normal day tomorrow Harls, you won't ever see him again. Just a one time thing…" Harleen told herself and threw her dress into the pile forming the corner of her room. Leaving the window, she checked one more time to look out into the rampant world down below.

A dark, hooded figure stood down below looking up at the apartment building. "I followed her like you asked, boss. Now what?" The man walked down the street while talking into the phone.

" _Nothing yet, if he looked at her the way you say, we'll wait for him to destroy himself rather than getting our hands dirty."_


	3. Curiosity and a Cat

A/N: So I screwed up how much I need to pay for my dual credit college class by 63 dollars…. My mom isn't gonna be happy about that. But anyways! This took me a few days to write, sorry. I was expecting it to be done sooner. I was trying really hard, bc I already have more follows and faves and reviews than I expected, which makes me really happy! Merry Christmas!

* * *

Harleen walked into class five minutes late, earning a glare from Professor Crane. She hung her head low as she sat in a desk, pulling out her laptop.

"Now, as I was saying, for your mid-term project, you will apply to Arkham Asylum. Only a select few of you will be accepted based on the performance review that I have laid out for the warden there, and also your own applications. For those of you who are not accepted, I expect a paper. Times New Roman, size 12 font, APA format. The paper must be a minimum of 5,000 words over a criminal you wish you could interview from the asylum."

Professor Crane handed a large stack of papers to Harleen and turned back to the class. "Take from the top and pass it on." Crane walked to his large desk at the front of the room and sat down, propping his feet up on the wood. "As for those of you who do get into the paid internship, oh, did I forget to mention that? You get paid, although it's a small stipend compared to a normal job." Harleen passed the papers to her left and looked down at the parchment. It was an application. "But if the warden likes your executions over there, he might ask you to stay and work full time."

Half of the class sputtered in excitement, whispers of interviewing every well known villain that Gotham has ever seen. The other half sat quietly, scribbling on their applications. Harleen sat in her seat contemplatively. As class came to an end, students gathered their things and left, Harleen at the front of the line. Walking out of the room left thoughts running through her head, those blue eyes and and green hair never leaving her focus.

Harleen crossed the street from the college and skipped down the steps into the subways station, slicing her card through the scanner and twisting fast the rotater. "Go left on Fenimore, right on Lefferts, and then another right on Empire Boulevard," she muttered as she climbed into the train, grabbing a handle to steady herself.

Waiting was agonizing torture. Harleen wished the train would move faster, or else she thought she could have beat the subway if she had walked instead.

"Empire Boulevard, two minutes," the conductor's voice echoes through the speakers. Harleen shuddered in anticipation and moved closer to the doors as the train stopped, shoving past a man and running up the steps. She took a deep breath through her nose, her eyes closed as the fresh air rushed through her lungs.

"That's better." Harleen looked around, seeing very little of the destruction that had happened Saturday. She took a tentative step out into the street from the alley, not expecting a masculine hand to grab her forearm.

Harleen screamed and tried to yank herself from the grip. The hand forced her forward, her head hitting the concrete hard. She reached her hand up to her forehead, seeing blood on her fingertips before everything went black.

* * *

"Have a nice nap-a?" Harleen heard a rough, playful voice say as she groggily woke up. Her head was throbbing and went to lift her hand up to feel the damage, but she couldn't. She looked down at her wrists and found them tried to the arms of a chair.

"What the…?" She pulled at the restraints, growling in anger.

"Hehe," Harleen heard the voice again. "Feisty, I like that in women."

She looked ahead of here where she had heard the voice coming from.

Harleen curled into herself as much as she could. "I don't want to be any trouble here. I was just curious."

She heard the laugh again, high pitched and listened intently as footsteps grew louder. His pale face crawled out of the shadows, his left hand covering his grilled smile, instead, the tattoo showed instead. "I once heard a story about curiosity and a cat. It didn't end well, if I remember correctly," Joker laughed again from behind his palm.

Harleen looked him right in the eye, hoping he couldn't see through her faux confidence. "Good thing I ain't a cat," her Jersey accent spilling out with her frustration.

The Joker looked delighted in the thought that he was getting under her skin, clapping loudly and hopping from foot to foot. "This is gonna be lots of fun," Joker exclaimed and threw his hands down on her knees.

Harleen gasped at the touch and shifted in her chair, gasping for breath as electric waves flushed through her body once again. The Joker grinned, flashing his silver lined teeth. Her eyes never left his as he moved his face closer to hers.

"What's your name, doll face," The Joker asked, the heat radiating off of him creating goose bumps on Harleen's.

"Ha-Harleen Quinzel…" Harleen whispered, tilting her chin up to show him she wasn't afraid, or maybe to persuade herself she wasn't. The Joker leaned forward again into her neck and smelled her sweet scent of apples.

"Mm… like the harlequin. Interesting," Joker pulled back and withdrew his hands to brush back his slicked-back green hair. "Jonny, Griggs." Joker called and two men appeared eard. One was well put together, in a suit and groomed beard, while the other was shorter, in a swat suit, and his hair was unkempt.

"Yes, sir?" The taller one asked.

"I have a job for you, Jonny. I might be a little busy tonight, so you keep an eye on the clubs." The suited man nodded and turned to leave while Joker turned his attention to the man who Harleen assumed was Griggs. "As for you, I want you find me new contacts. I'm running out of allies. There's a list of potentials in my office. But I swear, if I find one thing missing or moved that is not the list, I will cut all your fingers off one at a time and sew them back in in places they shouldn't be. Got it?"

Griggs nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now go," Joker commanded and Griggs left the room, the door closing loudly, making Harleen jump.

Joker grabbed a chair sitting on the wall opposite her to her left and dragged it across the concrete floor to right in front of her. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and propped his chin on folded hands. "We can do this your way, or my way," he remarked, pulling out a knife from his waist.

Harleen's breathing hitched at the sight of the knife and nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you really come here? I hate liars, and you've already lied to me once. Lie to me again, and you'll face some consequences," Joker mused, softly brushing the edge of the knife across Harleen's flushed cheek. She let out a shaky breath and pulled her face away from the blade.

"I already told you. I was curious." Joker growled and pressed the tip into Harleen's cheek.

"And what else? I really don't want to cut this pretty face of yours," he muttered as he pressed it harder into her skin. Harleen whimpered and her chest hitched with intake she took.

"Okay, okay. I came to find you." Harleen looked down at the ground before looking the Joker in his cold blue eyes. "I wanted to find you…"

Joker looked her back in the eyes, astonished. He licked his lips while trying to think of something to say. He saw she was telling the truth, but her answer didn't satisfy him. Why, why did he want to know more?

Harleen watched him intently, trying to imagine the thought guts running through his mind. She watched as his hand with the knife lowered into her lap, laying in her thigh. Waves of fire flooded her veins from his touch. Joker moved the knifed hand in a swift motion, cutting Harleen's restraints. "Get up," he commanded, not noticing Harleen putting pressure on her wrists where he accidentally cut her. She followed him as he exited the room.

Joker led her into the club she was previously at Saturday. He stopped suddenly, Harleen running into his back. She stumbled back embarrassingly. Harleen stood there awkwardly as Joker jumped up onto on of the stages with a pole and swung around it. "Why?"

"Why what?" Harleen asked, started at the abrupt question.

Joker stopped himself mid-swing and threw his head back, looking at the blonde upside down. "When and where?" He giggled and jumped down. "Why did you come to find me. Are you gonna turn me in to the Bat? Why did you come back, Harley?" Joker stalked around her in a circle, twirling a piece of her platinum hair.

"No, I just wanted to…." Harley paused. Why did she come here? Joker stopped to face her, his lips millimeters from hers. "I don't…. know actually."

Harley turned her face from the gangster's, humiliation flooding her cheeks. Joker moved the hair that had fallen over her face.

"Listen sweet cheeks, it was nice of ya to try, whatever you were tryna do. But unless you have a real reason to find me, I'll already be there. So why dont'cha go home, take a nice hot shower and prepare for that little internship at Arkham." Joker suggested, turning her the direction to a door.

Harleen nodded, trying to ignore the warmths of his body behind her and walked.

"Nice knowin' ya Harley," Harleen heard before a crack sent her tumbling into a black oblivion.

The next time Harleen woke up, Pam was shaking her on the couch. "You missed class today. You looked really tired so I left you when I left for work this morning, but you were still asleep when I got home. It's 6 now."

Harleen bolted upright, grabbing her head as it throbbed in pain. "Ugh…" Harleen groaned.

"You okay?" Pam asked.

"Yeah, I just had a… rough night, I guess"

"Well you might want to see this. A lot went on last night after you conked out," Pam tossed the Gotham Gazelle at Harleen and walked into the kitchen.

Harleen straightened out the news and looked at the front page.

 _Joker Caught by Batman in John F. Ostrander Bank, Taken to Arkham Asylum for Evaluation_

Harleen reread the page and looked at the picture below. Joker was staring right at the camera, his grill on display and winking. Harleen tossed the paper on her bed as she pulled out the application and a pen. As soon as she sat down again, she almost ripped the paper with the tip of her pen, she was so excited.

"Damn, girl. What has you all hyped?" Pam asked as she plopped herself down right next to Harleen.

"Nothing," Harleen replied as she went to work.


	4. Ghost Stories

Harleen sat alone in a hallway, the tap-tap of her heels echoing off the bland concrete walls. She was one of two students picked for the internship and she was thrilled, but inside her head she told herself not to jump the gun. The blonde was waiting for her assessment by Doctor Jeremiah Arkham himself. The door to her far right opened and a chunky brunette popped her head out, looking around before her brown eyes landed on Harleen.

"Ah! There you are. Doctor Arkham is ready to see you now," the woman addressed. Harleen stood up, steadying herself as her ankles wobbled with her first steps. The woman led her to a room past two desks, which Harleen presumed were for secretaries. Beth, which was the woman's name, opened the door and spoke to Arkham. "Doctor Arkham? I have Harleen Quinzel for you," she ushered Harleen inside.

The young student stood there awkwardly for a moment before Arkham spoke. "Go ahead, sit. I don't bite," he chuckled and swiveled his chair around so he was now facing her. He was older than he looked, black hair with silver strands starting to peek at the edges and soft lines that made him look relaxed. He had a large smile on his face. "My, you're application picture does you no justice," he leaned his elbows on his desk. Harleen gave him an appreciative smile.  
"Um, thank you?" She stuttered and pressed her knees together, folding her hands above them. She noticed how the doctor's gaze moved up and down her body, resting on her chest for mere seconds before he looked her in the face again. The blonde felt disgusted.

"So before we begin, I'd like to formally introduce myself. I am Doctor Jeremiah Arkham, director and lead doctor of this pristine establishment. As you know, you've been selected by myself and the Gotham Uni school board for a paid internship. Now, I don't know if you are aware, but if I and members of the faculty here find your performance of working and doing your duties here satisfactory, you will be given a job, full benefits and all," he paused.

"No, sir. I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for telling me." Harleen was starting to like the concept of this job.

"Of course. So then onto the more important details. While you are here, you will not have to worry about school as this counts for the rest of your semester credits you need to graduate. This will give you more time to focus on your future career here at Arkham. This is your schedule," he handed her a calendar. "For the first weeks, you will be shadowing some of our best doctors, so you get the best insight on how to do your you leave this office, your mentor will be waiting outside. He will give you a full tour of the premises and afterward, feel free to ask him any questions. Your mentor will let you know who you'll be treating along side him as you shadow him." Arkham clasped his hands together and looked at her once again. "Any questions?"

Harleen shook her head. "No, but thank you."

Arkham grinned and stood up, as did Harleen. "I'll get that for you," Arkham politely opened the door and gestured her out.

"I'll check up on your progress later, Miss Harleen. Have a nice afternoon." Arkham called after his new intern. Harleen could feel his eyes on her ass and she shuddered in revulsion.

Just as Arkham had said, her "mentor" was waiting outside. She looked him up and down as he sat there, not noticing her.

"Ahem?" She coughed and he finally looked her in the eyes. Harleen had to force herself not to let her jaw drop as she looked at the most gorgeous green eyes she had ever seen. He seemed older than her, but not by much. He had a clean, sharp jaw line and as he towered over her, broad shoulders.

"Harleen, yes?" He asked.

"Uh.. I mean yes, I'm Harleen." She held out her hand and smiled.

He gave a light laugh and firmly shook her hand. "I'm Doctor Riley, but you can just call me James. I'll be your mentor."

"Harleen Quinzel. Nice to meet you."

"Alright then, what should I show you first?" He seemed to be talking to himself as he looked at her. "Here, follow me."

Moments went by without talking, only the sound of her heels filling the void of silence. They reached a balcony of sorts that overlooked the entry of the asylum.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"I'm guessing you're not talking about Casper.." Harleen laughed lightly and gave James a small smile.

The male doctor chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry to say, but no. None of the other staff comes up here because they believe this balcony is haunted. The story is, is that when this place was first built, one of the mental ward's most dangerous sociopaths escaped and jumped off this ledge, and now he walks the hall pushing whoever walks past. Funny thing is, I'm still here." James grinned and looked down at Harleen. She finally noticed how tall he was, and she wasn't a short woman, standing 5 inches about the average height for her gender.

Harleen laughed and looked over the ledge, seeing a few straggling doctors who seemed to be late for their sessions. "I don't mean to sound rude, but what is the point of this?"

"It's just something interesting to start off with. Plus, this is where I come when the patients get on my nerves. Some of them like to get into your head."

Harleen shuddered at the thought of someone poking around in her head. "Well, if you think about it, we're doing the same thing to them."

James nodded and looked at her from over his shoulder. "Good point." The doctor led Harleen down a set of stairs, stopping in front of a window that looked into a room.

She observed how there was a restraining chair in the middle, with little metal sliding tables around it. She noticed a boxy machine almost hidden behind the chair and she bit in a gasp.

"We try to use this room as little as possible, only when necessary. There's nothing to fear. Everything we do is perfectly legal." James' words did little to settle her stomach, despite the fact that she knew that they had to follow procedure.

It wasn't long after he showed Harleen the rest of the facility that they reached the prison ward, where the inmates were kept. On the floor they were on, in the basement, was the max security cells.

James lightly set a hand on her elbow and looked at her apologetically. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you, Miss Quinzel, but one of my patients has acted up and they need me on the second floor."

Harleen nodded. "That's okay, go. I'll be fine."

James smiled at her before he sprinted out of her sight, his white lab coat billowing out behind him.

Harleen looked at the gated door in front of her and tried the knob, which surprisingly turned and the door opened. She wandered further down the hall, looking at the numbers on the doors. She guessed the sound of her heels caught the attention of some of the inmates as she could see eyes though the slots.

"Hey there pretty lady, wanna have some fu… Damn, please tell me you're my do…"

Harleen continued to walked down the hall, tuning out the cat calls, whistles and pick up lines. She semi-regretted coming down here. She stopped in front of one of the cells and looked at it's numbers and the file attached to the door below it.

 _Patient 0801_

 _Name: Unknown_

 _Familial Status: Also Unknown_

Harleen's eyebrows furrowed together in curiosity and took a tentative step closer. She stopped when she heard someone's heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. Harleen darted back up where she came and flew up the stairs. She finally stopped when she was out of earshot and safe on the main floor.

Little did she know, Patient 0801 had been watched her every move the moment he could see her through the bars. And knowing she was here was not a good thing, for either of them.

A/N: So it's that one day that most people hate, including me, called Valentine's day. I was extremely motivated to write this chapter as my little sister continually pisses me off, and as I sit here wrapped up in my blankets eating chocolates my friends got me, she reminds me I'm still single. -_- BUT ANYWAYS, I'm sorry for the late update, I've been super busy with school and getting registered for college! YAY! I'll be working on the next chapter to this story right away bc I have so many plans for this! Stay tuned! Review, PM, favorite, follow, whatever. Let me know what you think. :)


	5. Cracked

She wondered what others thought of her, though she didn't really care. Never has. But in this moment as she stood outside with Doctor James, she couldn't help but ask herself. Harleen had been told to meet James in front of session room 2-M after he left her two days ago. She was officially working at Arkham and shivers of excitement crept up her spine.

The blonde turned at as she heard footsteps from behind her and saw James carrying some files.

"Ah, Doctor Quinzel. I'm so glad you're here. This is the patient file." Harleen looked down at the front cover, the number 0801 stamped into the front. "Ready?" James asked as he gently touched her elbow and guided her through the guards to the door. They unlocked the metal entryway for them and they filed in, Harleen first.

From what Harleen could see, the patient was tucked into a straight jacket, and his feet shackled. His head was facing downward and his hair covering any facial features. She couldn't tell what color hair he had with how dim the lighting was. They sat down across from 0801 and opened their files.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Riley and this is Doctor Quinzel, we'll be evaluating you for today. Can you please state your name?"

The patient's head swayed from side to side as she listened to a small laugh bubble from his chest. "Sorry doc, even if I could remember it, I wouldn't tell ya," the man said lightly.

James scribbled some notes down as he observed the criminal, while Harleen sat there stone cold. She recognized that voice.

James looked up, "Could you tell us what you call yourself?"

The man before them shifted in his seat and slowly lifted his head. The light graced his face and Harleen sucked in a breath, darting blue eyes peering at her through green strands. She held her breath as he spoke. "If ya need me to tell you who I am, then I guess I haven't been doing my job…" A smile split his face before he began to laugh again. James frowned at his response and continued writing, the pause was making Harleen uncomfortable.

"Mister Joker…. What are you afraid of?" Harleen asked, making James looked at her with aversion. Joker frowned and bowed his head, seeming to take a minute to answer.

"Nothing."

Harleen sat there watching him intently. She felt the shift in his attitude, though his face was indifferent. She noticed James was not pleased so she looked away from them both, looking at the small, barred window. It was raining out, as it always was in Gotham. Harleen heard James continue on with simple questions. Harleen wrote notes of her own, not paying attention to the questions, but picking up on the sly remarks that left the Joker.

 _The subject seems to use sarcasm as a defense mechanism to deflect questions, some even as simple as to what his name it, relatives, etc. Despite these reactions, he answered honestly and calmly to questions pertaining to fear. I assume that asking him questions of his "work" will help unearth the patient's views and consequently help understand him mental state, resulting in a diagnosis._

Harleen set her pen down, glancing at her co-worker. James ran his hands through his once-prim hair as if he was frustrated. As she looked over at Joker, she could see a look of accomplishment.

 _Seems to take pride in breaking people._

When she looked back up once again, she noticed he was staring at her.

"Writin' in your diary 'bout me? How sweet!" He grinned.

Doctor Riley shut his file and sighed. "Well, Mister Joker, our session is up. We'll see you tomorrow."

James stood and waited for Harleen. He led her to the end of the room opposite of Joker and glared at Harleen. "I get that you're new and all, but unless I tell you you can ask questions, don't say a word."

Harleen furrowed her brows in confusion. "You weren't getting anything out of him. And the question I asked was the only one he answered honestly."

James scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Please, Harleen! He's a psychopath, he was lying straight through his teeth. I wouldn't believe a word he said."

Harleen was taken aback, noticing the transition of moods in James. "Then that's your method of treatment, but that will not be mine. If Mister Joker says something, I will take his statement into full consideration before determining if it is truthful."

James pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted. "Miss Quinzel, this is a warning. Interrupt my interrogation again, and you will no longer be accompanying me. Understood?"

Harleen nodded. "Yes," she frowned in defeat, lowering her head and followed her superior out of the room.

She didn't notice the eyes gazing at her, a fire in them full of anger.

* * *

The moment Harleen entered her office she was called to Arkham's office. As she was ushered in and seated, Arkham was stressing out over his predicament.

"So it seems that we have a problem, Miss Quinzel. Doctor Riley is no longer employed here, and since you have already started sessions with the Joker, you are now the sole psychiatrist for him."

Harleen shook her head, "Excuse me?"

Arkham folded his hands on his desk. "You are to carry on sessions with the Joker as his psychiatrist. It seems that James was violating our strict rules of conduct and was terminated from his employment."

The blonde nodded and looked at Arkham. "Thank you, sir…," she said unsurely.

"For now, after every week of sessions, I want a report of your progress. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well," Arkham looked at his watch, "Might want to head on out, your session starts in no less than 15 minutes."

Harleen nodded and stood. "Thank you again, sir."

She wasn't sure where her feet were taking her before she realized she was in the staff room. A few of the other doctors were in there mingling, stopping the moment she walked in. Harleen heard their whispers, some speaking of her highly; how she was now the Joker's doctor, and the others criticizing her for getting James fired. Harleen poured herself a cup of coffee while listening to a few doctors to her left.

" _She's not gonna last, none of them do."_

" _A girl like her is gonna run screaming out of that room the moment she sees his face, I've seen it happen before."_

" _I don't know guys, giver her a chance. I bet she'll make it through more than 3 days of sessions with that monster."_

" _I give it half of one."_

The group laughed lightly as she clicked out of the kitchenette and ran for her office to compose herself.

Harleen set her mug down on her ring-stained desk and let out a breath of relief. "Even here I can't escape gossip…" She muttered and straightened out her modest but tight pencil skirt. Her blouse was fine, but strands of her honey blonde hair fell out of it's chignon. She didn't bother fixing her hair.

She realized that she had two minutes to haul herself over to her session room, so she quickly gathered her files and left.

The guards were polite and nodded to her as she approached them. "He's in there," the one on her left said.

"But before you go in, there is a panic button underneath the table. Press it and we'll be in there."

"Thank you," she paused. "I'm ready."

"Hello, Mister Joker." Harleen smiled brightly at her patient and settled across from him, crossing her legs.

Joker looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow. "No more James Bond?" He asked with a grin.

Harleen pursed her lips to hide a smile. "I'm afraid not, so for the time being, I'll be your doctor."

"Lucky me! At least I have one thing going for me now."

"And what would that be, Mister Joker?"

Joker grinned and leaned forward. "Bein' able to look at your pretty face for an hour." Harleen's chest flushed red before it reached her cheeks. "And please, enough with formalities, call me J."

Harleen nodded, reminding herself to note how he was using flattery. "Well then, Mister J, we'll start off with a few simple questions."

"Alright doc, whatever you say," he smirked.

"Why do you do what you do?" Harleen asked, listening to Joker chuckle.

"Simple, my ass. That's a pretty packed question… Where do I start?"

"From the beginning," Harleen suggested.

"Ah… But you see doc, I can't start there. Just like I don't remember my name, I don't remember growin' up either. Sometimes I remember it one way, and the next it's somethin' different. If I'm to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice."

Harleen nodded in response. "I see, can you tell me how you became the Joker?"

Joker chortled and sniffed. "The entire reason I'm like this is because of one person."

"Who was that?"

Harleen waited through the silence of the man in front of her. Several minutes passes, herself observing how the subject shook. She wasn't sure if it was rage or him trying to control his emotions.

"Batsy…. Batsy… Batsy…" Harleen finally heard him mumbling quietly.

"Batman?" Harleen inquired.

Joker pushed his lips out into a pucker. "Ring-ding-ding," he sang.

Harleen was surprised he was being so open, so she took the chance to ask more. "Would you car-"

"Enough about me… I want to know something about you." Joker interrupted her.

Harleen narrowed her eyes. "Well Mister J, we have already bet before this."

"Are you referring to yesterday, or when you came to my club?"

Harleen blushed. "I know the little things, dollface. But what I wanna know is… What the hell you are doing playing with fire."

The doctor recrossed her legs in discomfort. She didn't like how he had reversed the table, putting the spotlight on her. "I don't know what you mean."

She heard him tsk. "Lie to me once, shame on you. Lie to me twice, shame on me… Listen Harley, the more you're denying whatever is going on in ya pretty head, the more I'll just spit out nonsense. So, tell me, why?"

Harleen glared at her patient. "I don't know what ta say, because I really don't have a reason." She snapped, bits of her Brooklyn accent peeking through.

Joker grinned, believing he got her. "Nice to see you crack, knew you weren't perfect."

Harleen smirked. "Mister J, you're not going to 'crack' me."

He grinned, "and why is that?"

She was about to answer when her buzzer went off, signaling the end of their session.

"I'm sorry to say this, but that answer will have to wait for another day."

Joker smirked and nodded, watching Harleen stand and gather her things. "You're welcome, by the way…"

"For what?"

"For getting rid of pretty boy," Joker tapped his feet. Harleen rubbed her palm against her thigh.

"You… You got his fired? Why?"

"I didn't like the way he talked to you."

Harleen stood there dumbfounded as she watched the guards roll the clown prince out into the hallway, back to his cell in max.

"Thank you?" She whispered quietly in the empty room.

Later that evening, Harleen lay settled in her bathtub, the Joker's files laying on the dry floor as she observed them. She just couldn't seem to get him out of her head, envisioning his face, seeing the stark black lines that poked out of his straight jacket on his neck. What stayed in the back her mind, what was nagging her, making small voices talk to her, was his statement about cracking her. She felt determined not to let the King of Gotham break her.

A/N: So a new chapter! YAY! Trying to update as much as possible. I watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies last weekend and I loved it, but came to find it doesn't have much of a following, which made me sad. But whatever. Please PLEASE review, fave, or follow! Thanks for the love, 33 faves and 58 follows! New goal is that by chapter 6, I'll have 40 faves and 65 follows. Again, please review, fave, and follow!


	6. Blast from the Past

A/N: I just wanna say that I am really thankful for your guys support through this, and I want to give a special thanks to shikacloud for the critique. That meant a lot and has motivated me to make this even better.… This is probably my most successful story! But I am so sorry I've been lax about posting. If you guys have experienced the end of senior year in HS, you could understand. I'm swamped.

!WARNING! This chapter contains and attempted rape. I will try to make it as least descriptive as possible so to not cross into M. If you would prefer to skip that part, I will put a ! before and after it.

It had been two weeks since Harleen had become Joker's psychiatrist, which had surprised many of the staff, earning her respect. The catch of this was the fact that Joker hadn't opened up very much since the first session, irritating the doctor till she was on her last nerve. There was even one session in which Harleen had yelled at him, his only reaction a sly smirk. She had cut that session short; once the clown was escorted out was when she let out a scream, kicking his chair.

Harleen was walking from her car to the front door of the hospital, reflecting on the night before. She had run into an old friend from high school, Pamela. The two had relaxed at Harleen's apartment. It was the first time since she left college to work at Arkham that she truly felt comfortable. The two women had parted ways late in the evening, leaving Harleen alone once again. She slept well last night without the help of drugs for once.

This morning was her normal session with Joker.

"Good morning, Mister Joker. I see you're as joyful as ever," she japed at his scowl. Joker slowly lifted the corners of his lips into a small smile as his doctor sat down.

"Hey doc?" Harleen looked up, surprised at Joker, "I was wondering if we could play a game today."

Harleen sat there across from the clown, the suddenness of his remark etched into her eyes. Normally Harleen had to ask him several questions, or tell him something interesting about herself to make him respond. But he was the one initiating the conversation and she wasn't willing to let this opportunity to escape.

"What kind of game would you like to play?" She asked curiously. Harleen watched as the corner of his painted lips twitched up in an almost smirk.

"How about I play the doctor today?" He grinned and Harleen frowned. Well that wasn't what she was expecting. As a psychiatrist, she tried to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. Pro: She could learn more about him in the way he acts. Con: He could learn more about her and use it against her. In the end, her curiosity won the better of her judgement, her mind flitting back to the first time they met at his club, and his quip about curiosity killing the cat. ' _But satisfaction brought it back…'_ Her mind sing-songed.

"Alright, Mr. Joker. I'll play. What are your rules?" Harleen instantly regretted her comment when Joker grinned, flashing her his metal grill.

"I'm glad you asked, _patient._ Today, I get to ask all the questions, and you, none."

Harleen paused, wondering what he was really up to. She nodded in agreement. "Fantastic! So tell me Miss Quinzel, have you ever wanted to kill someone?"

Harleen was utterly taken aback by the question, before the true meaning began to seep beneath her skin. Had she ever wanted to kill someone? She could remember times where she wished someone died because they were pests in her life, a thorn in her side. But never… kill… Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish searching for water and shook her head. "No… I-I don't believe so... "

Joker frowned and his lips moved to the side of his face in a sneer. "Now, Harley, what did I say about being honest?"

The mention of that detested nickname sparked a wretched memory in the back of her mind.

!

 _Harleen, seventeen, was walking out of gymnastics. Her body was slick with sweat, her blonde hair was plastered to her forehead. She walked around the building to the back. It was late, and she had been the last one in the practice arena so she was alone. As Harleen quickened her pace past a dark alley, a hand jolted out and snatched her by the back of her head. She screamed as she was jerked back unexpectedly._

" _Help!" Harleen managed to scream before a harsh hand clamped over her mouth and nose, leaving her unable to breathe._

" _Well, well, well. If it isn't our little Harley Quinn," a male voice chuckled and she stiffened. She knew that voice… She watched in horror as her friend, or so she had thought he was, stepped directly in front of her. Harleen attempted to move her face out from under his harsh hand enough to allow air to flow through her nostrils. Even as she took in a shaky breath, her body shook._

" _I'll take my hand off, only if you promise not to scream… Promise?" Harleen nodded her head, despite the fact she couldn't move it very well. "Good girl…" The man purred in her ear as he dropped his hand to grip her waist and his breath hot on her neck. She attempted to swallow the bile creeping up her throat._

 _How could this be happening to her? She was just a small town girl from the middle of Jersey. Bad things don't happen to good girls from small towns. Harleen nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt the monster's lips on her flesh. "Wha-what do you wa-want from me," she pleaded._

" _You've been holding out on me, Harley. I know you know what I want. Normally, I enjoy the teasing, but right now, I just want to get to the action." The man licked the curve of her collar bone, making Harleen produce goose pimples in disgust. His hands drifted south of her body and started tugging her athletic shorts down her hips. As his one worked on her clothing, the other tried to grope her breast. The action was enough to spur Harleen's anger, enough to make her push him off of her before she kicked his leg, bringing him to his knees. She swung her leg around his neck and tightened her grip around him, slowly choking him. She didn't notice how his blunt fingernails left striking red marks all along her skin, or when he rammed her back into the brick wall. All she wanted to do was watch the life slowly slip out of him._

 _She finally let him go when she felt him pass out. Harleen sat there next to him for a short moment, shaking, her mind not processing what had actually happened. She looked upon the face of the person who betrayed her, her eyes welling up. Sense took over her foggy mind, and she sprinted to her car._

!

The Joker watched her as she remembered. He knew a woman like her, so fiercely protective of herself, had felt that spark. He watched her eyes, clear and blue, become as hard as steel. This was what he was hoping for. He was snapped from his revery in her eyes by her voice. The tone sent shivers down his spine.

"Brett Caelan."

Joker watched Harleen, how her vocal chords seemed to tense at just the person's name, and how her chest was stiff with anger. The clown smirked, knowing he had accomplished something. "Will you tell me about him?"

Harleen shook her head. "No? Can you tell me how you wanted to… accomplish the objective?"

"I choked him."

Joker smirked at her words. She had used the past tense action. So she attempted…

"I choked him with my legs until her collapsed and I ran," Harleen said, rubbing her right shin with her other leg. She could still feel the red, swollen lines as if it was yesterday at the moment.

The clown couldn't help but think about his doctor's legs, but not around the no-face Brett. He imagined them around his. In delight, he grinned at the thought. For the rest of their session they sat in a comfortable silence, her staring at him and him vice versa.

All the rest of the night, Joker paced his cell. He had to get out of here… He had to have someone on the inside. And _she_ was the perfect candidate. Now all he had to do was get her to eat out of the palm of his hand, or at least get her to trust him. The former almost seemed impossible to him. He did love a challenge.

All Harleen could think about after her strange session with her high-profile patient was how the nickname she detested sounded coming out of his mouth. She actually found it… pleasing. She was taken out of her trance when she was called to Arkham's office.

"You asked for me sir?" Harleen said hesitantly.

"Ah, yes. Dr. Quinzel. I wanted to ask you a question about your last session with Joker." Harleen instantly became red.

"Sir, I'm so sorry. It won-" Dr. Arkham stopped her with a hand.

"Dear, you're not in trouble. I was just wondering how you got the Joker to sit so long without his mouth moving."

Harleen looked at the screen Dr. Arkham gestured at. It was black and white, no one could notice when her cheeks became red with anger, and no sound came out either. She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh um… I was… telling him a story." She half lied. Harleen didn't tell the doctor it was true, or that it was about her.

Dr. Arkham raised his eyebrows, impressed. "I guess we'll have to try that with a few of our other rowdy patients. Good work, Quinzel."

After she was dismissed, Harleen let out another sigh of relief. After today, she would never let the Joker be in charge of their sessions.


	7. The True You

After the Joker's stint, Harleen never let her guard down. Every time the clown tried to reverse their roles, the doctor instantly responded with a personal question. She knew that he would respond with something equally snarky or outrageous. They were going in circles, and is Harleen was being honest with herself, the non existent progress was making her crazy too.

Nights before her sessions with the Joker, she would talk herself into a steely resolve. The moment she entered that room though with him staring at her with that nauseating smirk, it instantly dissolved. It wasn't until one discussion with another patient that she might have found a way to get something out of him, at least to better understand the sociopath.

" _Jael, you need to tell me what you're seeing, because otherwise I can't help you…" Harleen comfortingly said to her schizophrenic patient. She watched as he yanked at the cuffs again, the metal digging into the already bruised flesh of his wrists. The entire reason that there were having a session before their scheduled one was because he was showing signs of hostility at nothing but air. Jael had attacked a guard as they were bringing him is food, which was odd because this patient was normally withdrawn but always docile._

 _Jael looked Harleen dead in the eye, startling her, "I see him…. All the time. He haunts me, that laugh."_

 _Harleen raised an eyebrow at the man and frowned. "Can you tell me about him? What does he look like?"_

 _She listened to Jael prattle on for a minute about silver… Teeth? Before she could ask him about that, he interrupted her thoughts. "Green hair… And tattoos, lots of them. All I hear is his laugh… Ha, HA HA HA HAAA.." Jael started yelling. She knew that laugh._

" _Mr. Diago, are you referring to the Joker?" She threw out._

 _Jael instantly tensed. "Don't say his name! He can hear us… He is listening all the time. You-you don't understand how he really is… The real him. He's terrifying."_

 _Harleen furrowed her brows. She was pretty sure she knew him a little…_

" _A-ask him who he is…" Jael told the doctor, his wrists bleeding from his yanking. The request, no demand it was, startled her again. The only thing she could do was nod her head to ease the poor man._

Harleen sat across from Joker with her hands in a steeple. Her head was cocked to the left in a curious way as she looked at him across from her. She noticed the same smirk that would normally make her change her mind, but the session with Jael was still fresh in her mind, cementing her decision.

"So doc, what's in store for us today? A game? Oh, oh… Maybe another heart to heart? That was one of my favorites…" J pestered the blonde, pausing when the doctor herself smirked.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

Joker lifted his hands in a cocky fashion. "Well honey, I'm the fucking Joker. I'd hope you'd know that by now." He teased, dropping his hands onto the table.

Harleen shook her head. "No… I mean who is the Joker, what are you-to you?" She watched as his baffled expression was overcome with understanding. He lifted a shackled hand and waved a finger at her.

"You.. Are good. Ya see, the Joker to me was who I was meant to be the whole time! The Bat? Hell, he's just a piece of the puzzle that has become me. Before, I was a pussy. A fuckin' disgrace to society. And now? Now I'm the most known criminal in all of Gotham. All is takes is one bad day to lose all sanity, and sweetheart did that bad day turn out to be the best."

Harleen silently sighed in frustration. _How does he do it? Answer my question and avoid it at the same time?_ She tapped her pen against her lips as she contemplated her next move.

"Who is Harleen to you, doc? Is she who you're expected to be? Or who you were _taught_ to be? Ya see, normally I hate people like ya. You're all fakes. But there is somethin' in ya that I can see that you can't… What you can become and what greatness you can accomplish. I see it." The Joker surprised her.

"And what do you see in me, Mister J?"

"I see chaos," he responded with a wide grin that scared Harleen.

Reflecting on her session was a nightmare. Not only could she not focus, all she heard was his last words to her before their session ended. Harleen pulled at her blonde locks in frustration, groaning loudly. She would not crack. She had already told him he wouldn't be able to do it. Remembering her words to him in their first session by themselves made her mentally smack herself.

She realized saying that has probably egged him on to do exactly that. Harleen was not prepared for what was to come next as she was pulled from her thoughts with a loud explosion. Immediately jumping from her chair she ran out into the hall to see masked men surrounded by smoke firing at her co-workers. She watched in horror as they fell to floor in heaps and cowered when the men grabbed at her.

"Don't touch me, you bastard!" She kicked at them, aiming for one of their heads. She screamed as they caught her ankle and jerked her forward onto her back. Harleen screamed in defiance and used her other foot to kick the man in the groin, effectively making him let go of her. She continued fighting with all her might.  
"Don't touch me! D-don't t-tou…" She drifted off slowly as one of the masked minions sprayed her with a gas.

Harleen awoke strapped to a gurney, struggling to get out of the strips of leather. The blinding light up above her was making her headache worse. She honed in on the sound of footsteps and voices coming closer and she strained to see who was there. Suddenly a familiar face was hovering up above her with a wild, glittering grin.

She scowled up at the man. "What do you think you're doing? I know you're crazy, but this is suicidal!" Harleen screeched up at him, thrashing in her restraints even more than before.

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Nah sweetness, I'm just here to help you."

Harleen panicked and searched the room. After a full assessment she realized she was in Ward F… Where the electroshock therapy room was. "How is this supposed ta help me?" She gasped, the leather digging into her skin.

"Well, remember when I told you I see chaos in ya?" Harleen simply nodded and Joker smirked. "This is gonna help finally crack that pretty little resolve of yours…."

Harleen wasn't able to protest as one of the Joker's minions shoved a belt between her teeth and he pressed the prongs to her temples. "This is gonna hurt a lil bit," Joker smirked.

The Joker watched as her body nearly bent in half from the shock he sent through her, and she was glorious. He didn't think he'd seen anything more beautiful than her crystal clear blue eyes staring back up at him through the whole thing with that amount of _fire._ He should have suspected that she would be furious, but he didn't care. He was helping her expose who she really was. She would thank him for it later, he knew she would.

He watched as her body convulsed until her eyes finally fluttered shut as she passed out. Tossing the device to the side, he unstrapped her and picked her up bridal style and smirked at her limp, broken body in his arms. She was a vision, and it was all coming together.

Even though he had planned to use her to get him out, turned out that the guards were pretty easy to persuade and his plans for this spitfire changed. He jerked his head at his employees, gesturing for them to get them out.

"Time to finish this…" J muttered as he placed her next to him in the SUV. "Take us to Ace," he ordered.

He was still carrying the doctor when she woke up, he body still convulsing at sporadic times. When she realized where she was, he watched as she shrieked and scramble out of his arms and land with a thud on the hard floor.

"What did you do to me?" Harleen scowled and shakily stood up, using a nearby railing as support.

"Oh nothing… Just helped that chaos come out a little." Joker smirked, pushing his hair out of his face.

Harleen tried shaking the dizziness she was experiencing but groaned. "Where am I?"

"Where I was created," the Clown Prince replied, making Harleen stumble away from him and closer to the edge of the overlook.

The doctor took a step back when the Joker took a step forward. She noticed her predicament and stared back at the green-haired man. "If you move closer, I'll jump. I swear I will."

"I believe you," Joker continued to smirk as she took another step forward, making Harleen take a step back.

The blonde straightened her face with determination, glancing down at the vat of… Something. She wasn't sure. She looked back up at her captor and stared him dead in the eyes as she took that final step back.

And she fell…

Becoming completely submerged in black.

A/N: Okay, so I have no excuses for my absence except that IDFK what I'm doing and just trying to get my shit together before college. And I had a few chapters for this written, but I hated them and took a completely different direction than I had planned. AS YOU CAN SEE, I also took a very different direction when it comes to Harley Quinn's origin. You'll see her in the next chapter. I hope you're not mad at me for changing it, but I've seen so many writer stick to the original, and I love them, but I wanted mine to be different.

With love,

Audilion.


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